not irreversible
by Elendraug
Summary: a continuation of "not inevitable." link and midna. alternate universe. spoilers for the end of the game.


the legend of zelda: twilight princess. link and midna. spoilers for the end of the game. characters belong to Nintendo.

**not inevitable**

-

-

For the briefest of moments, Link wonders what it will be like to visit the Twilight Realm again. It was strange, yes, but he liked the Twili, liked the happy sounds of approval they made in awe of the two Sol. He liked its inverted glow, the cooled blue-greens that coiled through the shadows.

All too soon, Midna's tear of light pierces the Mirror, and all of Link's hopes shatter along with it. Fragments of her shimmer and disappear, and she's igone./i

With the Sages watching from above, he sinks to the ground beside Zelda, sobbing to the point of dry heaving.

-

-

-

**not irreversible**

"I'm so sorry, honey."

Telma places a gentle hand on Link's shoulder as he rests his head on her countertop, sitting on a chair he dragged over from The Group's table. He stares listlessly at the door, the postman visible in his peripheral vision.

Link grunts vaguely in response, and she rubs at his arm reassuringly.

"Why don't you ask my friends? They might be able to help you."

Louise meows in support and nudges her head against his leg.

-

Shad sighs, tapping his foot and intently studying something in the distance behind Link, carefully avoiding his gaze.

"My apologies, old boy, but I don't know. The majority of my research -- as well as my father's -- concerns the Sky Beings. I would hazard a guess that Auru is well versed in these matters, moreso than the rest of us."

Ashei moves her hand from her hip to her pocket, rummages, and gives him a folded piece of paper. She grins sheepishly.

"I dunno either, but I drew you a sketch of Epona the other day. Maybe it'll cheer you up, yeah?"

Link unfolds it and can't help but raise an eyebrow at the crude red lineart; he wills himself to smile anyway. He's not ungrateful for her kindness.

-

Auru furrows his brow in thought for a moment before shaking his head sadly.

"The Mirror is the only artifact I know of from that era. One would need that sort of deep magic, the power of the goddesses, to accomplish any travel between realms in such a way."

Link shoots him a pained look, and Auru meets it with one of sudden realization.

"...did you say the Mirror was _destroyed_?"

-

The idea comes to him in a dream, startling him out of sleep with fleeting visions of two people on horseback, a drawbridge, and fire. With moonlight filtering down softly through his roof, he rubs blearily at his eyes and struggles to cling to the swiftly fading images.

A girl: he can't tell the color of her hair. A bridge: it's rickety in a hazy forest, then it's ablaze once again. An instrument... She lifts it to her lips, closes her eyes, and _plays_.

Somewhere in the depths of his subconscious, he's reminded of the ruins in the Sacred Grove.

He doesn't sleep for the rest of the night.

-

In the morning he eats breakfast with Colin and Uli, and follows their insight to find Rusl near the Ordon Spring.

"What you're describing," he says, feeding a scrap of meat to his hawk, "sounds like an ocarina."

-

The Sacred Grove is difficult to reach without her help, but the golden cucco is patient with him as he makes his way to the heart of the woods. This time, the Skull Kid is nowhere to be found, though Link sometimes wonders if he's hearing laughter in the distance.

Without his canine form at his disposal, searching through the crumbled remains of the Temple proves nearly impossible. He drives the shovel he borrowed from Jaggle into the earth again and again. At one point he nearly falls through to the cave beneath the grove, his boot catching in the newly opened hole in the dirt. Straining to free his foot, he trips backward and lands hard on the soil. He lies there for a long moment, bathed in the soft stillness of sunlight streaming through Faron's trees.

Glancing around, he's disturbed to see the clearing torn apart by his efforts, and with nothing to show for it. He huffs in frustration and slams his fist into the ground near his hip. He wishes the goddesses or the light spirits were here to help him, now more than ever.

He doesn't fight it when he starts to drift off into exhausted sleep.

-

When he wakes up, he finds pieces of purple-painted ceramic beneath his palm.

He gathers the ceramic shards into a spare bomb bag, and knows that Nayru's love as the oracle of ages has brought him this gift.

-

Ilia helps him repair it, dabbing hoof glue onto the shards with a fine-tipped brush and holding them together while it sets. With the same meticulous precision that created the horse call, she slowly and carefully mends it.

Link gathers some wildflowers from the nearby stream and lays them in a string-tied bouquet on her work table. There are not enough words in the world with which to thank her.

-

He returns to the Sacred Grove to practice, to experiment with the notes until they do...something. The grass has started to grow back in hesitant, lopsided patches from where he upset the ground.

Time and again he plays the ocarina, sometimes blowing softly, sometimes too hard accidentally, resulting in shrill, off-key sounds. It's a matter of trial and error, and he's willing to try forever until he gets it right.

After a few hours of different combinations of notes, he hits a string of them that causes the ground near the walkway to the Master Sword to rumble. Intrigued, he plays it again, holding the notes longer, stronger this time. The Door of Time scrapes its way through the decades of both erosion and built-up soil and grinds to a halt, back in its original location.

Link's heart beats so hard it threatens to jump out of his chest.

-

The next few weeks are spent primarily in his basement, the darkness allowing him to clear his mind of any distractions. Every day he practices for hours on end, willing himself to somehow connect the power of the song with the magic of the Triforce. It's largely a thankless task, the long sessions leaving him with an aching back, a parched tongue, and endless amounts of frustration. Despite his dedication, he's made little to no progress, and he's becoming increasingly desperate.

In a fit of anger, he grabs the ocarina with his left hand and starts to throw it. His vision goes for a moment, and when he can see again, he's no longer in his basement. Confused, he surveys his surroundings, but doesn't recognize any of it. He opens the unfamiliar door and steps outside, the sunlight momentarily blinding him after a day in the dark.

Hanch stares wide-eyed at him, almost stumbling back in surprise. "Link, h-how did you get into Fado's house...?"

-

Link joins Jaggle's family for dinner, the selection of food ample and varied thanks to Malo Mart's success. Pergie serves them pumpkin soup with goat cheese; Link suggested Yeto's recipe to her. While the rest of them eat, Talo's determined to ask Link every question imaginable.

"Link! Whoa! I heard what you did, that's _amazing_, how did you get in there? I mean, he's always had that door locked, as far as I can remember--"

"Not that you were testing the lock on his house or anything..." Malo mutters under his breath.

"--and man, did you _see_ how fast he ran down the hill from the ranch when he found out? It's like, well, I ran almost that fast when we were in the woods this one time, but--"

Jaggle sets down another dish on the table: a pie made from Castle Town's best apples. At this, Talo decides to temporarily stop talking, which allows the rest of them to continue making conversation.

"Link, I have to say," Pergie remarks, "you look more cheerful than I've seen you in months."

He sneaks a piece of the crust to their dog beneath the table, and smiles brightly at her.

-

The years treat him kindly.

He continues to help Fado with the ranch, even after Epona's grown too old to assist with the herding. In the afternoons he walks her through the woods, and Ilia helps groom her in the clear springwater. Mayor Bo is proud of his daughter -- her expert craftsmanship has earned her customers from all over Hyrule, and she customizes their musical instruments with the same delicate skill it takes to work out the knots and tangles in a horse's mane.

Malo and Sera work out a deal to incorporate her products into his stores, with Beth helping to run the Kakariko location. Talo and Colin join the Royal Guard, both eventually ascending to prestigious ranks and commanding troops of their own in various locations. Talo is put in charge of matters in the Faron province, finally granted official permission to explore every bit of the forest. Colin is assigned to maintain relations with the Zora soldiers, and spends his free time fishing with Ralis at the base of the throne room's waterfall. On his visits home, he brings reekfish back for Sera's cat, who is happy to drag them all over the village.

Link travels occasionally to Castle Town to visit with Telma and the former members of the resistance. He gets lunch with Jovani and his new girlfriend, Madame Fanadi, and makes it a point to shower Gengle with affection. Although the guests of Agitha's ball died a long time ago, he still drops by to listen to her recount her memories of them, listening as she points them out by name from where they're mounted on the wall.

As a gesture of goodwill, he brings Purlo a gift. It's not initially well-received.

"A cartography set? What makes you think that a STAR like myself would want this?" Purlo snorts in disdain.

Link shrugs, and, shaking his hand firmly, produces a red balloon from behind his back and gives that to him, as well.

-

He makes his way to all the boundaries of Hyrule to say his goodbyes. To all his loved ones in Ordon, with Ilia promising to care for Epona during the time she has left. To the monkey who called him a prince; he can no longer understand her words, but feels they still have an understanding. To Yeto and Yeta after a long trek up Snowpeak, who challenge him to a final race against the both of them, and invite him inside afterward for their newest soup recipe. To Ralis, who's grown to be a respected and wise king, every bit as serene as his mother. To Coro, Hena, and Iza, who still bicker when they think he isn't paying attention. To Barnes, Renado, and Luda, who sit with him late into the night at the inn, quietly talking and telling stories of the village's history. To all of his friends in Castle Town, which warrants him a crushingly tight group hug from Telma and her comrades. To Zelda, who casts the protection of the light spirits upon him, and requests that he send their friend her best wishes. To the Goron Elders; to Darbus, who still doesn't know the full story.

Gor Liggs approaches him alone as Link turns to leaves Death Mountain.

"I have thought of you often, my child, and I believe I know what you intend to do." Link shakes his head, but the Elder stops him when he tries to protest. "Do not argue. I have seen it, and I wish to do something for you before you go. It is the least I can do to repay all the favors you have done for my people."

He leads Link into the mines -- safe once again -- and into his personal meditation chamber. Gesturing for Link to sit down, he retrieves several small, clay pots and places them on the floor, sitting as well and facing him.

"Give me your hand." And Link does: his dominant left hand. "You who bear the goddesses' mark, chosen for your courage... You seek to attempt something no others truly from this world have accomplished, or even known of."

With that, Gor Liggs dips a spoon into one of the pots and scoops pigment into a small, conical bag. Slowly, carefully, he applies the paste to the back of Link's hand, leaving elaborate designs around the Triforce. The art style is not one typical of the Goron tribe, as far as Link can tell. It isn't until the patterns are going up his arm that he recognizes what they remind him of; he's so taken aback by it that he flinches, causing Gor Liggs to smear some of the ink. He doesn't seem angry about this, though; he simply wipes off the area with a fingertip and keeps going.

"They won't be the same color as hers, I'm afraid," he says with a knowing smile, "but surely your bride will still gladly receive you."

Link has a feeling that even if he asked, he wouldn't get an answer, so he refrains from questioning him as he decorates his other arm.

-

He sees Falbi and Fyer last. Without access to the warp point, he needs Fyer's help to get into the desert. Before he speaks with him, however, Link stops at the ancient sky cannon. He loads the Dominion Rod into it, along with a note in a bottle (to protect from the water-based landing) to Ooccoo and her son, thanking them for their help throughout his journey. It fires, and he watches the items fly until he can no longer see them, not even with the Hawkeye.

"So this is it, huh?" Fyer collects the thirty rupees -- the price has gone up over time -- and steps out of Link's way. "You don't think you'll be coming back?"

Link shakes his head; he's not sure he'll be iable/i to come back. Fyer rubs at the back of his neck, then claps Link on the shoulder.

"Well. Best of luck to you, then. Good having you as a customer for all this time." He chuckles, and Link notices that he has so many more wrinkles now than he used to. "You're a big part of what kept us open, you know. We don't always get a lot of business around here."

Without an instant of hesitation, Link gives him the entire contents of his wallet -- although he keeps the wallet for himself, as a memento of Agitha. Fyer is understandably shocked.

"Link, this is a lot of money. ...you really _aren't_ coming back, are you." It's not a question this time, and there's something distant, unreadable in the old man's tired eyes. "Take care of yourself, wherever you're going."

He nods, smiles, and boards the cannon. Fyer winds the crank, with considerably more effort than in the past. The music plays, entirely inappropriate given the nature of the moment.

It fires, and Fyer watches Link fly until he can no longer see him.

-

The desert is hot and unforgiving as always. With the harsh sun beating down on him, Link hurries to locate a boar. Impaz has since moved to Kakariko, taking all twenty cats and the cucco with her, much to the delight of the two bored cuccos who already inhabited it. With the Bulblin forces scattered, they relocated primarily in the Hidden Village, leaving the boars to roam and reproduce out in the desert. As such, Link rides bareback, not that the Bulblin saddles were ever of much use for a Hylian to begin with.

While he can't urge the boar into a mad rampage with only its sparse fur as "reins," the trip is still faster with hooves than with feet or paws. The Arbiter's Grounds are utterly abandoned, and without lingering spirits to hamper his progress this time, the temple is much easier to navigate.

The Mirror Chamber is exactly as the three of them left it ten years ago, and the ground is so untouched, the sand so undisturbed, that it's even more eerie than he anticipated. Taking a long, nervous breath, Link reaches out to touch the frame that housed the twilit artifact and can't help but shudder. He hasn't been here since, and with good reason -- without a way to travel to her realm, it would've been too unbearably painful to see.

He stands on the platform that once connected with a staircase of light, cradles the ocarina in his hands, and begins to play. He holds the last note, lingering, then gathers all his courage and lunges forward into the air, the instrument held in front of him in his left hand.

Hyrule disappears around him before he can even start to fall.

-

The technique took him a decade to master, and even now, it's not perfect. Link lands hard on the ground, and it's not immediately clear where he is. Once he opens his eyes and sees the sky, however, there's no doubt in his mind.

Frantically -- he's waited far, far too long for this -- he runs through the courtyard and up the ramp to the palace, not even acknowledging the startled Twili that he rushes past. This time around, the platforms are easier to navigate; the city's transportation is fully functional without waiting for his prompting. The final ledge that lifts him up to the throne room is the hardest part to bear; after what seemed like a lifetime of longing to return here, the last few minutes are that much more difficult to handle.

Wrenching open the door, Link ignores the guards that immediately flock toward him, shoving them out of his way and sprinting up the stairs toward the tall, elegant figure seated in the elaborate, elevated place of honor. Midna gasps audibly and starts to rise, but Link's too fast. He throws himself into her lap, kneeling before her and crying against the fabric of her sarong.

"Midna," he manages to choke out, resting his cheek against her thigh. "This is much too late of a 'later.' "

Overwhelmed, she pulls the hat away from him in a swift, impulsive gesture. She ducks her head, buries her nose in his hair, and cries along with him. In her eagerness to hold him, she reaches too far and decides to give up on the throne altogether. She, too, falls to her knees and pulls him into such a tight hug that both of them find it difficult to breathe.

"Link," she says, her voice nearly cracking. "Link. I've regretted every second since I, since the Mirror--" She cups his cheek, runs her fingers through his hair, as if to make sure he's real, that she's not just hallucinating. Her eyes are even redder than usual, and she sniffs heavily. "I've missed you so much, I could just die."

The other Twili are utterly silent.

-

After they've both calmed down, they find a more secluded spot to catch up without her citizens trying to listen in. She has to order the guards to not follow; many of them hardly remember the hero who saved them, and the last time a Hylian entered the Twilight Realm... well. They have every reason to be suspicious.

"Who did that to your arms?" she asks, unable to stop grinning at him, just because he's _there_, he's finally there, somehow.

"Gor Liggs," he says, beaming back at her.

She laughs, a sound he thought he'd never hear again for the rest of his life. "The one who made us do that stupid thing with the hot spring water?"

Nodding, he pulls her into another embrace, both of them exuding joy. She puts her arms around his waist and rests her cheek against his temple -- she's still taller than him, after all -- and in that moment, it's as if every weight of both worlds has lifted from their hearts.

-

Before long, she has him dressed in a custom-tailored robe, a soft grey-blue, reminiscent of the slate-colored scales of his Zora armor. When he expresses uncertainty about the robe's traditional hood, she instructs the seamstress to make him a hat like the one he's accustomed to. He loves it, of course; it feels right. It's a piece of his past, a piece of his heritage to hold on to in this foreign land, and with it he feels as comfortable and at home as he did in Ordon.

Midna takes him back to the throne room, where there's now a large crowd gathered on the stairway. She waves to her people to greet them and call for their attention. With her right hand firmly in Link's left, she kisses his cheek and they both bow deeply to the rest of the Twili. Midna raises her arm again in a sweeping motion, and announces almost giddily,

"Behold your Twilight Prince!"

---

_  
"Shadow and light are two sides of the same coin, one cannot exist without the other. I know the reason the goddesses left the Mirror of Twilight in this world. They left it because it was their design that we should meet. Yes... that is what I believe."_

-- Princess Zelda

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ADDITIONAL NOTES:**

1. What Gor Liggs was doing was Mehendi, body art for weddings and other important days using henna as ink. Guys can have this done, too! http:// en . wikipedia . org/wiki/Mehndi#Tradition  
2. Link's outfit in the Twilight Realm was inspired by rinoaneko's gorgeous artwork -- panel #8 in this piece. http:// rinoaneko . deviantart . com/art/OTP-MEME-Link-x-Midna-111933011


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